SCOTLAND’S?worst?streets?for parking tickets can be revealed today, with some boosting council coffers by hundreds of thousands of pounds every year.

Drivers in the capital are the most likely to be hit with a parking ticket

Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth councils rake in close to £15million a year in fines.

Drivers in the capital are the most likely to be hit, with more than 180,000 tickets dished out last year raising just under £5.3million.

George Street is the worst street in the country for parking tickets, with 9,401 issued last year – more than one an hour – generating almost £250,000.

Joshua Miller, treasurer of the George Street Association, said Scotland’s cities are becoming less car friendly.

He added: “On the one hand, it is good there is timed parking because it ensures a turnover of cars and prevents all-day parking. However, the demand shows there is a need for more parking spaces.

“The amount of money made from parking fines in the street emphasises the fact there are not enough spaces for cars. While our cities around Scotland are becoming more people friendly they are also becoming less car friendly.”

Chambers Street in the Old Town and St Andrew Square also feature in the Edinburgh ‘streets of shame’.

In Glasgow, parking wardens have also been hard at work with the annual income from Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) rising from £4million in 2012/13 to £4.3million last year.

The city’s most lucrative street is Sauchiehall Street, which brought in almost £90,000. Dundee City Council issued 23,180 penalty notices last year compared to just 18,673 the year before, although the figures exclude PCNs issued off street.

The main thoroughfare through the city’s west end, Perth Road, is the ticketing hotspot.

As in the other cities, the tickets impose a £60 penalty reduced to £30 if paid quickly. However, the fine rises to £90 if there are delays.

PA

A report has revealed Scotland's streets of shame for parking tickets

The enforcement should be about keeping traffic moving. But unfortunately it seems to be have become about money

Director of policy and research Neil Greig

The fines from the whole of Perth and Kinross have boosted the local authority’s budgets to the tune of £1,281,736 since 2011/12.

In Aberdeen, the total from the five most ticketed streets shot up from £1,414,704.50 in 2013 to £2,489,344.21 this year.

Palmerston Road, near Union Square on the north bank of the River Dee, was the worst for parking tickets, followed by Golden Square.

Inverness and Stirling do not enforce Traffic Regulation Orders or collect fines. Parking enforcement is done by police and traffic wardens.

Last night, the Federation of Small Businesses called for wardens to use “common sense”. Colin Borland, head of external affairs (Scotland), said: “In the run-up to Christmas when we are encouraging people to shop in the High Street rather than out-of-town malls, a little common sense would go a long way.”

But the Institute of Advanced Motorists said decriminalising parking fines was never meant to be a council money-making tool.

Director of policy and research Neil Greig added: “The enforcement should be about keeping traffic moving. But unfortunately it seems to be have become about money.”

A spokesman for City of Edinburgh Council said parking fines go back into improving the driving experience in the city.

He added: “The income we receive from parking enforcement is reinvested into the city’s transport infrastructure. In addition, parking restrictions promote road safety and help keep traffic moving smoothly across Edinburgh.”

Council umbrella body Cosla said local authorities do “an excellent job of developing measured and proportionate charging regimes within very different local circumstances.”